My Birthday Weekend In Bruge

13/06/2018

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I was lucky enough to spend my birthday weekend in Bruge this year. This was a holiday of firsts for me as I had never visited Belgium before, nor had I ever been on the Eurostar.

Also, my accommodation was booked through AirBNB, something else I had never done before. Really glad I did though as it was fantastic

Table of Contents

Weekend In Bruge

The first leg of the trip was getting to London St Pancras station itself at 6 am.

Checking into the Eurostar was pretty easy and painless, and far less fuss than checking in for a flight. You have your bags scanned and then you go through 2 passport controls, the English and then the French literally within 10 meters of each other. I only took hand luggage with me as being just a weekend break and the practicality to transporting it

Seats are allocated and you get to board up to 20 minutes before the train is due to depart. The journey through to Brussels took 2 hours, and then on from Brussels was a direct local train to Bruge

Accommodation In Bruge

AirBNB is something I have known of for a number of years now. I have never booked to stay in any of the locations, mainly because I didn’t really know what to expect

I stayed in a split-level guest house which was in the back garden of the host’s home. When I say back garden, it wasn’t a small back garden so there was ample privacy. It was built along side the house facing out see it here it also came with bicycles free to use which was a bonus as everyone cycles in Bruge

Activities In Bruge

Belgium is well known for its great quality and range of beers, as well as its luxurious chocolates

Before my holiday I looked up the popular points of interest on TripAdvisor so I knew where to visit to make the most of my time there. Highly recommend doing as much research as possible especially when you are taking short breaks where you want to do and see as much as possible.

The Old Chocolate House had great reviews and allegedly it sells the best hot chocolate drink in Bruge. The ground floor was a shop and chocolate heaven. All types of chocolate shapes, colours, scents and designs are everything you could think of. Already boxed and a counter to pick and mix your own selection.

Upstairs was a dining area which served waffles, which are another well-known treat to sample in Belgium, and hot chocolate where you melt your own choice of chocolates into the hot milk. I must admit I did buy quite a few treats from here to bring home with me and boy was it worth it.

Beer Experience In Bruge

The Bruge Beer Experience was another great tour I went on, you get presented with headphones and an iPad upon entry. You can work your way around the tour at your own pace. You point the camera on the Ipad at images or pictures along the tour. It plays the story according to where you are, was pretty clever and very informative.

There are also interaction points where you can smell the scents of the beer-making ingredients. The hops weren’t something I am in a rush to smell again any time soon.

At the end of the tour, you get to the bar, as you would expect from a beer experience. The bar sold a vast amount of beers, all different varieties.

Choco-Story Chocolate Museum

Choco Story – The Chocolate Museum was an in depth look into the history behind chocolate. It takes you over four floors where you can see how over time historically and geographically, chocolate has evolved.

There are some fascinating pieces created and on display for you to look at on your way around too. You need to keep your hands to yourself, no touching or tasting these though.

You get to sample a trio selection of chocolate buttons on your way around the tour.

Right at the end of the tour, one of the chocolate chefs demonstrates how to make chocolates. I was fascinated and enjoyed the aromas;.

The Great Market Square, Bruge

This was my view of Great Market Square or Grote Markt from Historium Brugge Terrace. Historium Brugge is top of my recommendation list of things to do in the city, I found the museum very interesting and well worth the entrance fee

The Great Market Square is full of shops and restaurants so dining out you really are spoilt for choice. I would also highly recommend mussels in garlic and herbs, naturally served with fries like most dishes in Belgium

I had such an incredible time for my birthday weekend in Bruge, it really is a great place to visit. Even with just a weekend in Bruge I still managed to sample a lot of the tourist points and another weekend visit would be great

See four other countries I would like to visit

Have you ever had a weekend in Bruge? Let me know in the comments below

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